nonsturgeon

Nonsturgeon is an informal term used in fisheries biology and ecology to refer to organisms that are not sturgeon, i.e., not members of the family Acipenseridae. The term is not a formal taxonomic category; rather, it serves as a broad, descriptive label used in field data and landing records to separate sturgeon catches from all other species in mixed fisheries or survey catches.

Practically, "nonsturgeon" can include a wide range of taxa, such as salmon, carp, catfish, and various invertebrates encountered as bycatch. Its precise scope depends on context and the taxonomic resolution of the data; at times it functions as a temporary placeholder until specimens can be identified to species.

Because the category is non-specific, analyses that rely on it can obscure differences among non-sturgeon species and ecological groups, potentially limiting management conclusions. For this reason, specialists generally encourage explicit identifications when possible or a transparent breakdown of the nonsturgeon category by taxon, size class, or region.

Origin and regional usage vary. The term emerges from the need to distinguish sturgeon in surveys and market data, especially in mixed-stock or historical datasets. It appears in some fisheries literature, field notebooks, and data-entry forms.

See also: Sturgeon; Acipenseriformes; Fishery data categorization; Fisheries science.